Six Weeks in Reno

A woman at a "divorce ranch" in 1930s Reno strives to live life on her own terms in a powerful novel about heartbreak, hope, and the allure of the unknown.

September 27, 1931. Today my new life begins.

After twenty years in a loveless marriage, Evelyn Henderson will do anything to escape her stifling suburban life. She boards a train for Reno, Nevada, a former frontier town that's booming thanks to "six-weekers" women from all walks of life who take up residence there just long enough to secure an uncontested divorce--a right they don't yet have in their home states.

Evelyn settles into the Flying N Ranch and soon bonds with her housemates, most of whom have never ventured this far from home--or from societal conventions. The Biggest Little City in the World offers a heady taste of freedom for the six-weekers: horseback riding in denim and fringe by day and being courted by dance-hall cowboys by night. But underneath the glamour are the grim realities of Depression-era America, as well as the devastating consequences of escape.

As Evelyn is drawn out of her shell by a Hollywood-handsome wrangler and challenged by her new friends to reengage with the world in all its heartbreaking complexity, one thing becomes clear: six weeks will change her life forever.

Lucy H. Hedrick is the author of five works of nonfiction. Six Weeks in Reno is her first novel. Born in Chicago, Lucy attended Goucher College in Maryland, where she majored in music history and sang in the glee club. She has roamed the Eastern Seaboard ever since. Marriage brought Lucy to Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Shortly thereafter Lucy gave birth to her son, Tod. Today, Lucy lives in Sarasota, Florida, where she devotes herself to writing women's fiction. She is a member of the National League of American Pen Women, Sisters in Crime--Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, and Sarasota Fiction Writers. For more information, visit www.lucyhedrick.com.